Zaycon Foods Order - Chicken & Bacon

This order is CLOSED.  Click HERE to see what current orders they have going on.

Zaycon Foods is having another order in the Houston/The Woodlands/Conroe area. This month they have Chicken ($1.69/lb) and Bacon ($2.97/lb). I've purchased both of these from them before and they are extremely fresh and great quality. And they taste excellent!! I repackage mine in vacuum sealed bags before I freeze it. To order, click HERE.  Orders must be received by Saturday, January 14th.

Delivery is available to many locations in the Houston area, including a location in The Woodlands and one in Conroe.

The Woodlands
Friday, January 20th
9:30-11:30 am
Legends Sports Complex
602 Pruitt Rd
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Conroe
Friday, January 20th
1:00-2:00 pm
Living Word World Outreach Church
3273 S. Loop 336E
Conroe, TX 77301

Below is more information from their website:

FRESH Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon

• High quality, medium-cut hickory smoked sliced bacon (14-18 slices per pound)
• Order includes two 15-lb cases with two 7.5-lb packages per case (Total order size is 30-lbs)
• Premium, high-quality and consistent, this hickory-smoked bacon has a wonderful flavor and represents a great value for families
• Easy to share with a friend if you do not think you can use the entire case

FRESH Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

• 100 % natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients
• Comes directly from the processor and has never been frozen
• Sold by the case — 40 lbs in each case
• Case dimensions—18 in wide x 12 in deep x 7 in tall
• [NOTE: Our chicken is delivered in its original wholesale packaging, a water resistant cardboard case containing three or four plastic bags of fresh chicken breasts. The smaller bags are typically sealed in a larger plastic bag. The smaller bags are not uniform in weight. There will be small amounts of naturally occuring liquids (i.e.,"chicken juice") in each bag and case. Chicken breasts typically come in double-lobed pairs ("butterfly") and will have small attached amounts of fat.]

Chicken - Freezing and Canning

Since there is currently a Chicken Order through Zaycon Foods in our area, I thought it might be helpful to discuss how you can store chicken.

Freezing

Select only high quality, fresh poultry to freeze. Package poultry in freezer paper, wrap using butcher wrap, or place in freezer bags. Store bought poultry needs to be over-wrapped before freezing because its clear wrap is not moisture-vapor resistant. When packaging pieces, arrange them to form a compact, square, flat package so they will stack better in the freezer. After packaging, seal and freeze immediately. Personally, I usually freeze my chicken using a vacuum sealer.  It does a great job keeping meat from getting freezer burn.

You can also cook your chicken and then freeze it.  I like to do this and either cube or shred the chicken to use in enchiladas, quesadillas, casseroles, soups, etc.  Package and freeze using one of the methods discussed in the previous paragraph.

Canning

The following information was taken from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Please read their section on Using Pressure Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you also read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure: Remove excess fat. Cut the chicken into suitable sizes for canning. Can with or without bones.  One pint jar holds approximately 1 lb of chicken.

Hot pack – Boil, steam or bake meat until about two-thirds done. Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars with pieces and hot broth, leaving 1-1/4 inch headspace.

Raw pack – Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart, if desired. Fill jars loosely with raw meat pieces, leaving 1-1/4 inch headspace. Do not add liquid.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2 according to the canning method used.

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 2009.

Pressure Cookers - Your Grandmother's Microwave

Pressure cookers are NOT the scary things they once were, but they ARE just as quick and easy. We had a class earlier this month to learn the basics of using a pressure cooker and I had a lot of fun trying some new recipes! I originally bought my pressure cooker to cook dried beans and until recently, that's all I've used it for. Now I've realized how easy it is to cook all kinds of things - even frozen chicken breasts and meatballs.  And it makes wonderful, easy risotto.

Using the pressure cooker uses less energy since the actual time the stove is on is less.  This is great for everyday use, but it would be even more helpful is you were trying to conserve energy during an emergency situation.  It is also a very nutritious method of cooking since the food is cooked quickly, maintaining more nutrients.

There is a printable handout HERE that covers the background of pressure cookers, what to look for if you're planning on buying one, resources for information and recipes, and some recipes that I've tried and liked. My favorite cookbook for pressure cooker recipes is Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass. It gives wonderful background information on how to use a pressure cooker and great recipes with lots of variations. There aren't any photos in the cookbook, but I still highly recommend it and I've included a few of her recipes in my handout so that you can get a glimpse of how well I think it is written.

Dehydrated & Freeze-Dried Foods

Our class on dehydrating showed us that making our own dehydrated food is easy and it doesn't take as long as I thought. Kelli had some great dehydrating tips which can be found HERE. She has a NESCO American Harvest dehydrator and has been very happy with it. Another brand she recommended was an Excalibur dehydrator. Some of the new convection ovens even have a setting for dehydrating foods (check your owners manual for details). Kelli suggested you look for a dehydrator that:

• has an adjustable temperature
• has the fan on the top or on the side
• is expandable (can add extra trays)

A mandolin cutter can help you cut food pieces thinly and uniformly.

Here are a few websites that give specific instructions on how to dehydrate fruits, vegetables, herbs, and jerky:

Pick Your Own
FarmGal

You can even make crackers in your food dehydrator! Kelli made some yummy flax seed crackers. She didn't have an exact recipe, but here are some basic directions:

Flax Seed Crackers

1 cup flax seeds, ground (use a coffee grinder or blender)
1 3/4 cup water
seasonings (Parmesan cheese: 1/2 - 5 Tbsp and garlic salt or powder: 1/8 - 1 1/2 tsp; or any other seasonings - you can even add finely chopped or blended vegetables)

Mix the ground flax seeds and water and let sit for 3 or more hours until gelatinous. Mix in seasonings to taste (remember that the flavors will concentrate somewhat as the crackers dehydrate.) Spread mixture as thin as possible (1/4" thick) on dehydrator trays with Teflon sheets. Dehydrate until crisp.

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We also talked about the difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated foods. That handout can be found HERE. We then had the opportunity to taste and see the difference in multiple foods. We even tried a few of the Mountain House freeze-dried entrees and they were all quite good. My family uses them when we go camping and they would be wonderful to keep in a 72 Hour Emergency Kit. It would be nice to have a real meal instead of just a granola bar in an emergency.

Here are some photos and thoughts on the food we sampled (you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them):

Canning Meat Class

Earlier this fall Sharon taught a class on how to can meat. We were able to sample some previously canned meat including chicken, brisket, ground beef, and pork roast. It was all surprisingly good! Consider adding canned meats to your food supply for days when you are short on time as well as for times when you might not be able to acquire or cook meat easily. You are also able to control what ingredients are in your canned food when you do it yourself.

For a printable copy of the handout from the class, click HERE.